Walkin' Around Checkin' Stuff Out. #70

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Aster House.

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Aster House opened quietly and I still haven’t heard much about it and I gotta say based on what we had people should be making a lot of noise about this place. The space amazing...they nailed the lighting...it’s like art, there’s not a direct light in the place, super dark and cozy. But I suppose that doesn’t lend itself to crazy bright walls for Instagram influencer backgrounds. Good. But it was the food that really surprised us. Aster Cafe isn’t exactly a culinary powerhouse so we didn’t expect much and we were blown away. The steak was perfect, the fish was memorable and the whipped potatoes were unforgettable. I hope they keep it up and I hope more people take notice.

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Kinzo Udon.

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Cheap homemade udon noodle soup on a -15 degree day is just what we needed. It was so cold out Pam left her coat on the whole time, and I think I ate mine even before she finished dressing hers up with all the spices.

Although a slightly vague description, it doesn’t matter...this stuff is magic. Adds a great kick and depth to soup...it’s the silver bullet or sure. I bet you could add it to warm dish water and it would taste pretty good.

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Cold, snowy walk.

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Not surprisingly, I tend to have the path to myself when walking around the lake on these crazy cold days. But Minnesotan’s do get out there...bundled-up in parkas and scarves and hats and mittens and boots and maybe a 1/2” of skin is visible across their faces...just enough for them to see. People will wave to me and I have to assume it’s someone I know, but there’s no way of telling who it is, but I wave back anyways.

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Ice fishing.

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It takes a special kind of person to sit out on a frozen lake in the middle of winter in -10 degree temps with the wind whipping across the lake. And this dude isn’t hiding-out in some fancy, heated ice house...he’s out there doin’ it. The only heat he’s got is the flame coming off his cigar. He must really like ice fishing. I don’t think I like anything that much. I mean, I love dogs more than anything, but I wouldn’t sit out there in that freezing cold and wind to pet one.

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Warm & stylish.

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I guess winter clothes are a fashion statement all their own...but mostly it’s functional and from the “I’m trying to not freeze to death” school of fashion. This person was able to both stay warm and look like they were walking a fashion runway in -10 degree weather. The cape is a nice touch, it looks cool and I have to assume it’s warm...unless the person ended up frozen to death in a snowbank and I just missed that part.

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Canteen Lunch.

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I rarely draw things twice, but I did two drawings of the outside of Canteen Lunch In The Alley (see last weeks post). Canteen Lunch is such a gem it’s worthy of many more drawings. We haven’t been traveling so drawing a place can really bring me back and gives me the bug to hit the road and find more out of the way spots like this. In a world full of generic chains, it’s nice to know there’s still places out there with soul....you just gotta dig a little.

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Waiting for take-out.

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It’s kind of an odd thing...sitting in a cheap Chinese take-out spot waiting for your order. Eating out tends to be pretty fun and social, but take-out is just the opposite. People tend to stare at their phones not making eye contact with anyone else, just waiting for their name to be called so they can dart out the door and go home to eat alone.

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Dogs.

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I’ll leave you with this 4-Framer that is certainly true for me.

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